Mounting assembly for mounting needle carriers on a comb of a combing machine

ABSTRACT

Needle carriers are mounted on a holder and particularly on a holder segment of a round comb of a combing machine by providing on the holder abutment surfaces, one for each carrier. Wedges or cleats clamp the bases of the carriers against these abutment surfaces so that the carriers are releasably locked in position on the holder.

United States Patent E erer 1451 Ma 30 1972 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR [56]References Cited MOUNTING NEEDLE CARRIERS ON A UNITED STATES PATENTSCOMB OF A COMBING MACHINE 311,097 i/l885 Atherton ..19/97 X [72]lnventor: Josef Egerer, Schwabach, Germany [731 Assignee: Staedtler &11111, Schwabach (Bayem), FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany1,139,521 2/1957 France ..19/l15 R 22 Filed: Feb. 5 970 311,163 5/1929Great Britain ..19/97 [21] Appl' 8,817 Primary Examiner--Dorsey NewtonAttorney-Hane & Baxley [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 8,1969 Germany ..P 19 06 396.8 [57] ABSTRACT Needle carriers are mountedon a holder and particularly on a [52] U S cl 19/234 19/97 holdersegment of a round comb of a combing machine by l 5 l 1 19/10 providingon the holder abutment surfaces, one for each carriss Field of Search..19 97,112,115, 129, 233, wedges chats clamp the bases the carriers19/234 these abutment surfaces so that the carriers are releasablylocked in position on the holder.

14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAY 30 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 w R i m MN R 2 z mma k r N5 7 y U. 5 0 W f 8 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR MOUNTINGNEEDLE CARRIERS ON A COMB OF A COMBING MACHINE The invention relates toa mounting assembly for releasably mounting needle carriers such asbarrettes on a holder, and particularly on a holder segment of a roundcomb of a comb ing machine.

BACKGROUND There are known mounting assemblies of the general kind above,referred to in which needle carriers are secured to holder segments byproviding in the holders mutually parallel lengthwise extending groovesof keyways into which the carriers and more particularly the basethereof, are inserted. The carriers are secured in the grooves by screwswhich are screwed into a side wall of the respective groove, normalthereto. The width of the grooves corresponds approximately to thethickness of the needle carrier.

Mounting assemblies of this kind are unsatisfactory in several respects.When a defective needle carrier has to be exchanged it is necessary toremove the adjacent needle carriers also as these carriers cover theheads of the screws with which the defective carrier is secured to theholder. In other words, the defective needle carrier can be detachedonly after additional needle carriers are removed even though the sameare in serviceable condition. Similarly, reassembly requires not onlymounting of the replaced carrier but also of the additional detachedcarriers. As is evident, replacement of a single defective carrier inthe manner as heretofore known, requires considerable time and labor andis hence correspondingly costly.

Another disadvantage of mounting assemblies as heretofore known is thatwhen the holder is a holder segment of a round comb such holder must bedetached from the combing machine before the afore-indicated repair orexchange of a defective needle carrier can be effected. A needle carrierusually carries rows of closely placed needles and the points of theseneedles must define a predetermined circumference when the holder isrotated in the machine. ln actual practice, it is very difficult if notimpossible to mount needle carriers so that the needles thereof areexactly at the required and uniform height so that it is necessary toadjust the carriers by means of suitable jigs to positions in which theneedle points conform to the required radius or circumference. Onlyafter such adjustment the holder segment can be reinstalled in themachine. Adjustments as hereinbefore described entail additional timeand labor. 7

Still another disadvantage of mounting assemblies as heretofore known,is that the space between adjacent needle carriers cannot be fullycovered within the range of the protruding portions of the needles. Inpractice, it is not possible to secure the needle carriers accurately inmutually predetermined positions. The diameters of the needles aredifferent in the individual carriers and the needles are generallysecured in the carrier by soldering. The thickness of the solder massholding the needles together cannot be held perfectly uniform. Theresult is that gaps are often present between adjacent needle carriers.These gaps constitute traps in which fibers tend to collect duringcombing operations. Such fiber collections interfere with the smoothoperation of the machine and must be cleaned out from time to time tomaintain satisfactory functioning of the machine.

THE INVENTION It is a broad object of the invention to provide a noveland improved mounting assembly for detachably mounting needle carrierson a holder such as a holder segment of a round comb of a combingmachine which assembly permits accurate as sembly and disassembly ofneedle carriers on the holder within a minimum of time and labor.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON The aforepointed out objects, features andadvantages and other objects, features and advantages which will bepointed out hereinafter and are set forth in the appended claims, areobtained by clamping each needle carrier between an abutment surface onthe holder and a clamping member such as a wedge. The wedges are shapedand positioned to hold the needle carriers in pressure engagement withthe abutment surfaces.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the abutment surfaces areformed on the holder by wall portions defined by contiguous steps in awall of the holder.

Mounting of the needle carriers on the holder such as a holder segmentof a round comb assures a pressure action upon the entire length of thebase of the needle carriers. Such an arrangement has the importantadvantage that each wedge and thus the respective needle carrier can bedetached and exchanged if necessary, without necessitating removal ofadjacent needle carriers.

The invention further provides that the blunt ends of the needles in thecarriers, when the same are mounted on the holder as described, restupon the base of the steps. As a result, the points of the needlesautomatically and accurately define the required circumference withrespect to the circumference of the holder segments. Hence, it is nolonger necessary to detach the holder segment when a defective needlecarrier must be exchanged. Another aspect of the invention is that theabutment surfaces on the holder such as the holder segment of a roundcomb are formed by side wall portions of equally spaced lengthwisegrooves or keyways in the peripheral wall of the holder. A wedge fittedbetween each two needle carriers inserted into one of these groovespresses the two carriers against the side walls of the respective grooveof keyway. This has the advantage that upon tightening of the wedges inposition the lateral pressure now exerted by the same is transmitted viathe needle carriers to the side walls of the respective groove.

The invention also provides that the wall of each groove or keywayconstituting the forward wall of the holder when the same is rotated isstepped. One needle carrier inserted into a groove is then so positionedthat it rests upon the shoulder formed by the step while a second needlecarrier inserted into the same groove rests upon the base thereof. Thishas the great advantage that when the wedge or clamping member istightened and the needle carriers are pushed into the groove or keywayso that one needle carrier rests upon the shoulder and the other on thebase of the groove, the needle points are automatically locatedaccurately on a common circumference as is the case with the firstdescribed embodiment.

The invention also provides that the wedges or other clamping membersare inserted parallel to the axis of the holder such as a holder segmentand are tapered in the direction of insertion.

According to still another aspect of the invention, the wedges orclamping members have elastic side walls, that is, the surfaces whichexert the pressure upon the bases of the needle carriers are elastic.For this purpose elastic cushions can be provided upon the side walls orinserted into the same. The same purpose can be obtained by providing aswedges or clamping members hollow bodies with springy shanks. Theseshanks can be additionally provided with elastic cushions securedthereupon or inserted into the material of the shanks.

According to still another aspect of the 'invention the wedges orclamping members may be secured in position by screws which are orientedapproximately parallel to the pressure surfaces of the wedges orclamping members. This has the advantage that the screws are alwaysreadily accessible. Moreover, the screws cause the base of the needlecarriers to be uniformly pressed against the abutment surfaces on theholder.

The needle carriers may be additionally held in position by providing onthe carriers lateral flanges upon which the wedges or clamping membersrest when the carriers are mounted.

Finally, the invention provides that the aforementioned gaps between thebases of adjacent needle carriers are so covered that fibers, debris,etc. can no longer accumulate and hence, cannot cause functionaldifficulties. For this purpose, the top wall of each wedge or clampingmember is so formed that it fully bridges the space between the bases ofeach two adjacent needle carriers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONIn the accompanying drawing several embodiments of the invention areshown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a mounting assembly according to theinvention, in conjunction with a holder;

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view of a wedge and the mounting screwtherefor;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 2 of a modification of thewedge and the mounting screw therefor;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a needle carrier;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the needlecarrier;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of another modification of theneedle carrier;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 1, but showing amodification of the mounting assembly in conjunction with a holder;

FIG. 8 is an exploded sectional view of a further modification of thewedge and the mounting screw therefor; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a hollow wedge.

Referring now to the figures in detail, the structure exemplified inFIG. 1 comprises a curved holder a which may be visualized as a holdersegment of a round comb of a combing machine. The outer peripheral wallof the holder on which the needle carriers are to be mounted, as will bemore fully described hereinafter, is formed with a plurality ofcontiguous steps b defining abutment walls g and step or base walls h.The grooves formed by the steps serve to accept therein needle carriers0. As is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, each needle carrier comprises a baseformed by cover plates e and e from which protrude a row of closelyspaced pointed needles d. These cover plates are formed in situ by asuitable hardening binder such as a soldering mass.

It should be pointed out in this connection that the invention is notlimited to needle carriers of the kind shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

The needle carriers c are mounted in position by the pressure action ofa clamping memberfsuch as a wedge or cleat. This wedge is pressed orpushed home in the direction of the arrow x, depending upon whether thescrew mounting according to FIG. 2 or 8 or according to FIG. 3 is used.Each wedge f presses with its pressure surface 1, the needle carrier 0against the wall g of the respective step b and presses simultaneouslywith its opposite pressure surface 1 against the adjacent needle carrierc. This adjacent needle carrier, in turn, is pressed by the respectivewedge f against the wall g of the adjacent sep As the wedge f is pulledhome the needle carrier c is pushed in so that the needle end d,protruding from the bottom of the base rests upon the step or base h ofthe respective step b. As a result, the points of all the needles defineaccurately the required common circumference z radially spaced from theperipheral wall of segment a as is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 further shows that the top wall i of each wedge f is so shapedthat it fully bridges the gap between two adjacent needle carriers atthe level at which the needles protrude from their bases.

As is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the needle carriers may be further held byproviding on one or both cover plates e e a lateral flange k and 1respectively, which may be a lateral flange integral with the respectivecover plate. The wedges f will rest upon these flanges when mounted.

Flanges k and I include holes k and I respectively, through whichmounting screws m and n as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8 are threaded intothreaded bores 0 or a, formed in the wedges. Threaded liners formed of ahard material may be provided in the screw holes of the wedges.

The holder segment a according to FIG. 7 has in its outercircumferential wall a plurality of uniform and circumferential groovesor keyways b, into which are inserted needle carriers c with coverplates 2, and e as shown, for instance, in FIG. 4.

Assuming that the segment of FIG. 7 is rotated in counterclockwisedirection, the then forward wall g is formed with a shoulder p uponwhich one needle carrier c rests when mounted. A second carrier 0 isinserted into the same groove so that it rests upon the bottom h, of therespective groove.

The two needle carriers are locked in the respective groove by thepreferably downwardly tapered wedges f which are fitted into the groovesbetween each two needle carriers. The wedges are pressed or pushed homein the direction indicated by arrow 2:, depending upon whether screwsaccording to FIG. 2 or 8 or according to FIG. 3 are used.

The needle carriers are again inserted into the grooves b so that theprotruding needle end d of one carrier rests on shoulder p and theprotruding needle end of the second carrier rests on base h of thegroove. Such location of the needle carriers automatically assures thatthe points of all needles are located on the common circumference zindicated in FIG. 7 by a dashed-dotted line.

The clamping pressure exerted by the wedges f when the same are pressedhome is transmitted in the direction of arrow y upon the wall g and inthe direction of arrow w upon wall g of the respective groove b,.

As is shown in FIG. 8 the pressure exerting walls of wedges f can bemade elastically deformable. For this purpose, springy cushions r and rmay be inserted into the pressure walls or adhered into the surfacesthereof. The provision of such elastic cushions has the advantage thatthe frictional grip between the wedges and the needle carriers isincreased. Moreover, manufacturing tolerances can be easily compensatedfor by the cushions.

Elastic deformation of the wedges can also be obtained by the structureaccording to FIG. 9. This figure shows a generally U-shaped wedge havingspringy shanks 14 and 14,, the outside surfaces of which constitute thepressure exerting surfaces t and t While the invention has beendescribed in detail with respect to certain now preferred examples andembodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art, after understanding the invention, that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changesand modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mounting assembly for mounting needle carriers on a holder, saidmounting assembly comprising:

a plurality of needle carriers each including a base having securedtherein an end portion of at least one needle;

a holder for said carriers, said holder including in one of its walls aplurality of spaced apart, mutually parallel grooves, the base of eachof said carriers being inserted into said grooves with the other end ofthe needles protruding from said holder wall and with one side wall ofthe base of each carrier abutting against a side wall of the respectivegroove; and

wedge means inserted into said grooves, each of said wedge means havingside wall portions abutting with pressure against an opposite side wallof the respective carrier base so as to press said base against saidside wall of the respective groove thereby locking the needle carriersin position in said grooves.

2. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said holder is anelongate curved comb segment, said grooves being formed in the outerperipheral wall of said segment crosswise of the length thereof.

3. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said grooves arein the form of contiguous steps in said holder wall, the base of eachneedle carrier being pressed with its said one side wall against a wallportion joining two adjacent steps.

4. The mounting assembly according to claim 4 wherein said one endportion of the needles on each needle carrier rests upon one of saidsteps.

5. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein each of saidgrooves defines two side walls facing each other and has insertedthereinto the bases of two needle carriers, said one side wall of eachof said bases abutting against one of the facing side walls of therespective groove, and wherein a wedge means is pressure fitted betweensaid two carrier bases thereby locking the carriers within the grooves.

6. The mounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein said grooves areequally spaced and extend crosswise of the length of the holder.

7. The mounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein one of said facingside walls of each groove includes a shoulder, the base of one of saidtwo carriers resting upon said shoulder and the base of the other ofsaid two carriers resting upon the base of the respective groove.

8. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge meansare downwardly tapered.

9. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge meanshas two opposite side walls, each of said side walls being elasticallydeformable 10. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein saidwedge means is a generally U-shaped member having springy shanks, saidshanks defining said side walls.

1]. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein each of said twoside walls has attached thereto an elastic cushion.

12. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 and comprising mountingscrews thrcadable into threaded bores in said wedge means extendingtherein substantially parallel of side wall portions of the wedge means.

13. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein the base of eachneedle carrier is extended by a lateral flange, said wedge means in theinserted position thereof resting upon said flanges.

14. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein the top wall ofeach wedge means covers the gap between each two adjacent needle carrierbases.

1. A mounting assembly for mounting needlE carriers on a holder, saidmounting assembly comprising: a plurality of needle carriers eachincluding a base having secured therein an end portion of at least oneneedle; a holder for said carriers, said holder including in one of itswalls a plurality of spaced apart, mutually parallel grooves, the baseof each of said carriers being inserted into said grooves with the otherend of the needles protruding from said holder wall and with one sidewall of the base of each carrier abutting against a side wall of therespective groove; and wedge means inserted into said grooves, each ofsaid wedge means having side wall portions abutting with pressureagainst an opposite side wall of the respective carrier base so as topress said base against said side wall of the respective groove therebylocking the needle carriers in position in said grooves.
 2. The mountingassembly according to claim 2 wherein said holder is an elongate curvedcomb segment, said grooves being formed in the outer peripheral wall ofsaid segment crosswise of the length thereof.
 3. The mounting assemblyaccording to claim 2 wherein said grooves are in the form of contiguoussteps in said holder wall, the base of each needle carrier being pressedwith its said one side wall against a wall portion joining two adjacentsteps.
 4. The mounting assembly according to claim 4 wherein said oneend portion of the needles on each needle carrier rests upon one of saidsteps.
 5. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein each ofsaid grooves defines two side walls facing each other and has insertedthereinto the bases of two needle carriers, said one side wall of eachof said bases abutting against one of the facing side walls of therespective groove, and wherein a wedge means is pressure fitted betweensaid two carrier bases thereby locking the carriers within the grooves.6. The mounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein said grooves areequally spaced and extend crosswise of the length of the holder.
 7. Themounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein one of said facing sidewalls of each groove includes a shoulder, the base of one of said twocarriers resting upon said shoulder and the base of the other of saidtwo carriers resting upon the base of the respective groove.
 8. Themounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge means aredownwardly tapered.
 9. The mounting assembly according to claim 2wherein said wedge means has two opposite side walls, each of said sidewalls being elastically deformable.
 10. The mounting assembly accordingto claim 10 wherein said wedge means is a generally U-shaped memberhaving springy shanks, said shanks defining said side walls.
 11. Themounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein each of said two sidewalls has attached thereto an elastic cushion.
 12. The mounting assemblyaccording to claim 2 and comprising mounting screws threadable intothreaded bores in said wedge means extending therein substantiallyparallel of side wall portions of the wedge means.
 13. The mountingassembly according to claim 2 wherein the base of each needle carrier isextended by a lateral flange, said wedge means in the inserted positionthereof resting upon said flanges.
 14. The mounting assembly accordingto claim 2 wherein the top wall of each wedge means covers the gapbetween each two adjacent needle carrier bases.